Disposable bag for medical uses

ABSTRACT

A disposable bag for medical uses includes front and back plastic sheets edge-sealed together. The front sheet has a circular opening and a double-sided adhesive annular disc, with a peelable covering, concentrically disposed about the opening. The diameter of the annulus is smaller than that of the opening in the front sheet so that, in a smaller annular area about the opening, the front and back sheets stick to one another, thereby maintaining a sanitary interior prior to use and, when the bag is not completely filled, enabling the opening to be closed after use. In one embodiment the bag is also provided with a valve to drain the collected contents or to permit the escape of trapped gases.

United 1 States Patent Pizzella [54] DISPOSABLE BAG FOR MEDICAL USES[72] Inventor: Raymond R. Pizzella, 301 Elm St.,

Cranford,NJ. 07016 p 22 Filed: Feb. 2, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 111,938

[52] US. Cl ..128/283 [51] Int. Cl. ..A6lf 5/44 [58] Field of Search128/283, 295,275, DIG. 24

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,548,149 4/1951 Fowler, Jr128/295 2,703,576 3/1955 Furr, Jr 128/283 3,131,403 5/1964 Hill 128/2953,292,626 12/ 1 966 Schneider 128/295 [15] 3,683,918 1 Aug. 15, 1972Primary Examiner-Charles F. Rosenbaum Attorney-F. W. Padden s7 2ABSTRACT A disposable bag for medical uses includes front and backplastic sheets edge-sealed together. The front sheet has a circularopening and a double-sided adhesive annular disc, with a peelablecovering, concentrically disposed about the opening. The diameter of theannulus is smaller than that of the opening in the front sheet so that,in a smaller annular area about the opening, the front and back sheetsstick to one another, thereby maintaining a sanitary interior prior touse and, when the bag is not completely filled, enabling the opening tobe closed after use. In one embodiment the bag is also provided with avalve to drain the collected contents or to permit the escape of trappedgases.

8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures DISPOSABLE BAG FOR MEDICAL USES BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION This invention relates to disposable bags for medicaluses and, more particularly, to such bags for use in coliecting bodyexcretions or for use as an ice bag and the ike.

In some medical situations (e.g., fractures or cardiacs) in which apatient is confined to bed, his daily body excretions are generallycollected by means of a metallic bed pan. This type of device is used,however, with the patient lying on his back with the bed pan beneathhim. For obvious reasons, a bed pan so positioned is cumbersome tohandle and control and in addition often creates severe discomfort tothe patient. Because of the rigid shape of such bed pans it is generallynot possible for a patient to make use of them while reclining in otherpositions e.g., while lying on his side.

Moreover, the conventional bed pan provides no ready means for storingthe excretions for subsequent medical analysis. In order to provide forsuch analysis, the excretions have to be emptied into a separatecontainer which often is an awkward and time consurruning procedure.

Another disadvantage of the prior art bed pan is the requirement that itbe cleaned after each use, again a time consuming and hence expensiveprocedure, especially when one considers that this operation is repeatedseveral times each day for each of the hundreds of patients in ahospital.

Furthermore, being a rigid device, the bed pan occupies considerablestorage space, and by their nature have but one function to collect bodyexcretions.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a bag forcollecting body excretions which alternatively may be used inadministering enemas, as an ileostomy or colostomy bag, as an ice bag orthe like.

It is another object of this invention to provide such a bag which isboth disposable and foldable into a relatively small size for readystorage.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide such a bag whichpermits use by a person while disposed in a variety of physicalpositions including reclining on his back as well as on his side.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other objects of the invention areaccomplished in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of theinvention, a disposable bag including front and back flexible (e.g.,vinyl or polyethyline) plastic sheets edge-sealed to one another. Thefront sheet of the bag is provided with both an opening for collectingbody excretions, or for the insertion of ice cubes depending on thedesired use of the bag, and a valve for draining the liquid excretionsor gases after collection.

When it is desired to collect body excretions, for example, the peelablecovering is removed to expose the adhesive disc. The annulus is thenplaced over the body opening and the non-irritating adhesive discpressed against the surrounding skin. Then, or prior to adhering the bagto skin, the fiont and back sheets are manually pulled apart in theaforementioned smaller annular area to open the bag. In this manner, thebag by adhering to the skin admits to use while the patient is eitherreclining on his back or on his side, as well as in other positions.When the use of the bag is completed, the front and back sheets mayagain be sealed and the bag removed from adhesion to the patients skinby gently pulling it therefrom. In this way, the bag may be stored forsubsequent medical analysis of the collected excretions. The valve maybe utilized to drain off a portion of the collected contents foranalysis and/or to permit trapped gases to escape.

For use as a urine collection bag with incontinent patients or forcollecting laboratory specimens, the valve provides a urinary drain towhich a drainage tube may be connected. The present invention is alsoparticularly useful in collecting the excretions. of fically incontinentpatients where the stool is frequent and unpredictable. The versatilityof this invention is further demonstrated in its uses as an ice bag orin administering enemas; in the latter case the bag may be perforatedfor tube entry and taped after use. In addition, the medical bag may beutilized following certain surgical operations such as ileostomies orcolostomies, the annulus of the bag being placed over a short section ofthe ileum or colon which protrudes from the body of the patient into thebag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other objects of theinvention, together with its various features and advantages, can beeasily understood from the following more detailed discussion, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1. is a top view of a bag for medical uses in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged crossed-sectional view taken along line 2-2 inFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Turning now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention a bag 10 for medicaluses comprising a flexible front sheet 12 edge-sealed at 14 to a similarback sheet 16. The sheets are typically fabricated from a thintranslucent plastic material. The front sheet includes a main circularaperture 18 for collecting body excretions (or receiving ice cubes, forexample, depending on the intended use) and a valve 20 for draining allor a portion of such col lected excretions typically through a hose (nowshown) into an appropriate receptacle. The valve may be a conventionalRoberts valve or a valve of the type described in my copendingapplication Ser. No. 818,705 filed on Apr. 23, 1969.

The aperture 18 is formed by an opening 22 of diameter D2 in the frontsheet 12. Overlapping the opening 22 is a double-sided adhesive annulardisc 24 having an annulus 26 of diameter D1 less than D2. A peelableannular covering 28 sticks to and covers adhesive disc 24 to prevent thedisc from adhering to unintended surfaces during packaging or storing.Because the diameter D1 is less than D2, there is formed an annularadhesive area 30 to which the annular portion 32 of back sheet 16sticks, thereby closing the bag and maintaining the hollow interiorsanitary prior to use. Alternatively, this feature permits the bag, whennot completely filled, to be closed after use as will be describedhereinafter.

In order to collect body excretions, peelable covering 28, which istypically formed in two semicircular annular halves, is removed toexpose adhesive disc 24. The latter is by gentle pressure made to adhereto the skin surrounding the body opening to be drained. Optionally, thebag may also be held in place by a garment or other similar means. Thus,the adhering contact between skin and disc creates a fluid tight seal toinsure that body excretions enter the bag interior and do not leak fromthe main aperture. To this end, the bag is opened by manually separatingthe front and back sheets by pulling them apart in the adhesive annulararea 32, thereby to permit body excretions to flow from the body openingthrough the main aperture to the bag interior.

Subsequently, if the bag is not completely filled, it may again besealed by pressing together the front and back sheets in annular area32, and the sealed bag may now be safely removed from contact with theskin. Thus sealed and removed, the filled bag may either be directlydisposed of, may be emptied and discarded or may be stored forsubsequent laboratory analysis.

The following description of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is intended to be for the purposes of illustration only and isnot to be construed as a limitation upon the scope of the invention. Forpractical purposes it has been found advantageous to fabricate the bagin the approximate form of an isosceles triangle having a base dimensionof about 13 inches and a height dimension of about 14 inches. The mainaperture is located near one of the apexes of the triangle and the valveis centrally located near the base of the triangle. Typically, theoutside diameter D3 of the covering 28 and disc 24 is about 4.0 inches,the diameter D2 of the front sheet opening is about 1.75 inches and thediameter D1 of the annulus of disc 24 (and covering 28) is about 1.25inches, thereby defining smaller annular area 30 to be about 0.25 inchwide.

It is to be understood that the abovedescribed arrangements are merelyillustrative of the many possible specific embodiments which can bedevised to represent application of the principles of the invention.Numerous and varied other arrangements can be devised in'accordance withthese principles by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A disposable bag comprising first and second sheets of flexiblematerial edgesealed together to form a hollow flexible structure,

said first sheet having an opening of a first diameter,

an annular double-sided adhesive member contacting said first member andsurrounding said opening, said member having an annulus of diameter lessthan the diameter of said opening, thereby to 2. 551113511212351fill'itihii llfid ifin il releaseably adhere to one another, and

a removable covering disposed on said adhesive member.

2. The disposable bag of claim 1 wherein said sheets are substantiallytriangular in shape, said opening being disposed near to one of theapexes thereof.

3. The disposable bag of claim 2 for medical uses including thecollection of human excretions from a body opening wherein said firstand second sheets comprise plastic translucent material,

upon the removal of said covering said annular adhesive member beingadapted to adhere to the skin surrounding the body opening, thereby toprovide a fluid tight seal to prevent the leakage of excretions flowingfrom said body opening through said opening in said front sheet into thehollow interior of said bag,

the hollow interior of said bag being adapted to receive said excretionsby pulling apart said first and second sheets in said smaller annularadhesive area, and further being adapted to re-seal said bag by pressingtogether said sheets in said smaller annular adhesive area.

4. The disposable bag of claim 3 wherein said covering includes acircular central portion covering said annulus to maintain the interiorof said bag sanitary prior to use.

5. The disposable bag of claim 3 in combination with a valve in one ofsaid sheets to permit the drainage of the contents collected in said bagor to permit the escape of gases trapped therein.

6. The disposable bag of claim 5 wherein said covering is substantiallycongruent to said annular member.

7. The disposable bag of claim 6 wherein said annular adhesive memberhas an outside diameter of about 4.0 inches and an annulus of diameterabout 1.25 inches, said opening in said first member being a circlehaving a diameter of about 1.75 inches, thereby defining said smallerannular area as being about 0.25 inches wide.

8. The disposable bag of claim 7 wherein said bag has the approximateshape of an isosceles triangle having a base dimension of about 13inches and a height dimension of about 14 inches.

a flexible

1. A disposable bag comprising first and second sheets of flexiblematerial edge-sealed together to form a hollow flexible structure, saidfirst sheet having an opening of a first diameter, an annulardouble-sided adhesive member contacting said first member andsurrounding said opening, said member having an annulus of diameter lessthan the diameter of said opening, thereby to define a smaller annularadhesive area between said diameters in which said first and secondsheets releaseably adhere to one another, and a removable coveringdisposed on said adhesive member.
 2. The disposable bag of claim 1wherein said sheets are substantially triangular in shape, said openingbeing disposed near to one of the apexes thereof.
 3. The disposable bagof claim 2 for medical uses including the collection of human excretionsfrom a body opening wherein said first and second sheets comprise aflexible plastic translucent material, upon the removal of said coveringsaid annular adhesive member being adapted to adhere to the skinsurrounding the body opening, thereby to provide a fluid tight seal toprevent the leakage of excretions flowing from said body opening throughsaid opening in said front sheet into the hollow interior of said bag,the hollow interior of said bag being adapted to receive said excretionsby pulling apart said first and second sheets in said smaller annularadhesive area, and further being adapted to re-seal said bag by pressingtogether said sheets in said smaller annular adhesive area.
 4. ThedisposAble bag of claim 3 wherein said covering includes a circularcentral portion covering said annulus to maintain the interior of saidbag sanitary prior to use.
 5. The disposable bag of claim 3 incombination with a valve in one of said sheets to permit the drainage ofthe contents collected in said bag or to permit the escape of gasestrapped therein.
 6. The disposable bag of claim 5 wherein said coveringis substantially congruent to said annular member.
 7. The disposable bagof claim 6 wherein said annular adhesive member has an outside diameterof about 4.0 inches and an annulus of diameter about 1.25 inches, saidopening in said first member being a circle having a diameter of about1.75 inches, thereby defining said smaller annular area as being about0.25 inches wide.
 8. The disposable bag of claim 7 wherein said bag hasthe approximate shape of an isosceles triangle having a base dimensionof about 13 inches and a height dimension of about 14 inches.